Which amendment is used in selective incorporation to apply rights to states?

Which amendment is used in selective incorporation to apply rights to states?

• A. First Amendment
• B. Fifth Amendment
• C. Fourteenth Amendment
• D. Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Answer: (C)

Selective incorporation relies on the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause to apply most rights from the Bill of Rights to state governments. Originally, the Bill of Rights restricted only the federal government, leaving states free to act. The Fourteenth Amendment reframed this by tying state action to due process, so the Supreme Court gradually extended fundamental protections—like speech, religion, and due process protections—to limit what states can do. That is why this amendment is the vehicle for bringing rights home to state action. The other amendments listed aren’t the mechanism for incorporation: the rights themselves can be applied to the states, but the process enabling that application comes through the Fourteenth Amendment; the Fifth Amendment governs federal power, and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment concerns voting age.